


Run Boy, Run

by inquiries_at_the_desk



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Gen, Gun Violence, Hints of Jigen/Lupin but only if you read it that way, It's not big or anything but they deserve a tag, Not a lot but it's there, Oneshot, Origin Story, Probably less tbh, Zenigata is mentioned, kind of, mentioned suicidal thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26373715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquiries_at_the_desk/pseuds/inquiries_at_the_desk
Summary: Jigen and Lupin; running, running, and running. A oneshot about first and second meetings and, more importantly, the start of a partnership.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22
Collections: Lupin III Big Bang 2020





	Run Boy, Run

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Weeburd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weeburd/gifts).



> Hi! So I was lucky enough to have the chance to participate in the Lupin III Big Bang (ahh), and here's my submission!
> 
> My assigned partner was Weeburd (I don't know if the gift function worked, I couldn't find them on this site so... who knows!) and they essentially were good with any characters or pairing, which was very exciting. Their prompt was 'surprise me!' and I hope this fits :D 
> 
> Thank you so much for the opportunity, I had a lot of fun with this!

They’re a month into the most recent job; a long affair that’s taken far too much planning, in everyone else’s mind, and far too little in Jigen’s. Usually heists don’t take this long. But the gang he’s been working with recently--all rough and tumble Americans with their cigars and leather and pool tables and guns--have been extraordinarily slow in gathering intel and now, a week out from the great game itself, it’s really and truly showing. Gathered around the table are the respective heads of their intelligence forces--plus the boss himself, a man simply going by the nickname Trigger. 

Jigen lights a cigarette, hands steady on the lighter, and for a second all of their eyes flick his way before returning to the task at hand. They’re talking, a low hum of nervous energy and manly posturing, and Jigen finds himself drifting, eyes wandering to the new recruit at the edge of the group. He’s a young man, with red hair, and a legion of freckles dotting his cheeks and forehead. He’d shown up out of the blue and called himself Ace; claiming ties to a cousin of the boss. And while Jigen had bitched and moaned about it in the relative safety of the boss’s rooms, the newbie had been let in without much fuss. Private business, the boss had said. Private business his ass. 

Jigen, much like everyone else, publicly wonders if this new guy (kid, really, though he can’t be much younger than Jigen) seduced the boss into letting him into the group. They sure as hell aren’t related, no matter what either of them says, and the boss has been known to swing that way from time to time. Jigen would know. Privately he thinks if that were the case, he wouldn’t get the same kind of vibes from this guy as he does from most folks who seduce their way in--no, “Ace” has this sort of dangerous quality to him and the boss stays way too far away for that to actually be the case. The apparent rookie eats alone. Drinks alone. Hell, smokes alone. It’s nothing like the rest of the guys, all muscle and bad jokes; like a pack of wolves. Ace is more like… Well he’s more of something. 

Around the table there is a hum of assent, and the respective heads stand in relative unison. Jigen snaps out of his thoughts in time to watch them disperse. Shoulders jockey and laughs are traded as everyone seems to come to an agreement. Ace slips out, Jigen’s watchful eye on his retreating back. And the boss calls him over for a quick second. 

“Jigen.” 

He nods, fingers twitching a little too close to the grip of his Magnum. One of the guys behind him bumps his arm. Jigen breathes, relaxes. 

“I know you aren’t too happy with this. But we’ve decided to go through with the job as planned. We have a week. Make sure to review your position with Cecilia.” 

And the boss gives him a curt nod, turns on his heel, and goes to look out the window. They’ll be having words later. Jigen grins through his cigarette and resists the urge to put it out on the carpet. 

Ace is leaning outside in the hallway, light glinting off his hair. He looks up as Jigen walks out, winks, and then _actually_ puts his cigarette out on the carpet. Jigen doesn’t quite see red, but he does think very hard about giving a long, long sigh. 

“Yes?” Ace isn’t talking, so he breaks the silence himself. 

“Oh! Nothing. I’m just waiting for Trigger to be finished. Business and all that…” 

Jigen can hear the smile in his voice, even if he doesn’t show it. Cocky bastard. The gunman isn’t one to be jealous, but it’s no fair that assholes like this guy get favors. And, sure, maybe he can be counted amongst that lucky group; Jigen isn’t denying that he gets some special treatment. But the only reason he’s so favored is because of his skill with a gun which, to be fair, is unmatched in America. Hell, maybe the world. And he doesn’t advertise it or anything (at least not a lot), but people find out, and he gets a few… perks as a result. 

Ace, still not-grinning, pats him on the shoulder. 

“A little spacey today buddy? No worries. You have a full week to get back in the headspace for uh.” The other man rubs the back of his neck. “Shooting things.” 

And with that, the last man exits the swinging door. Ace, not missing a beat, winks once more and slips in before it can shut again. 

Jigen almost punches a wall. 

He does talk to the boss later. They exchange pleasantries (or whatever can be counted as such in the business). Jigen asks about Ace. The boss kicks him out. He does not think this is a coincidence. 

They spend the week leading up to the heist in varying states of apathy. Jigen takes to shooting used cigarette butts, just to hone his skill. He catches Ace hovering around sometimes, but never actually runs into him. He smokes a lot. Drinks a little less; it’s not a great ‘headspace’ to be in before a job. And he asks around. 

In the early hours of the morning before the heist Jigen finds himself on the roof with a cigarette in his mouth and his Magnum in his hand. It’s a little windy and very cold and he stares at the ground below him with some level of apathy until he hears footsteps on the roof. He doesn’t bother turning, simply shifts the Magnum so that it’s in full view of the other person. The footsteps stop. 

“It’s a little dangerous to be on the very edge, no?” Ace’s voice is loud in the quiet of the night. Jigen has a vague, fleeting thought about its slight accent, though he can’t pinpoint it, and shrugs. 

“Getting in the mood.” Jigen takes a puff. 

“The job later today, you know. At this point at least.” 

“And?” 

“How are you supposed to shoot without any sleep?” Ace’s voice goes lower. More playful. “You might miss.” 

“I won’t.” 

“Ah, but how can you be sure?” 

The hair on the back of Jigen’s neck prickles, then stands up. ‘Ace’ is moving closer. He forces himself to breathe, take another puff. 

“I’m never sure. But I also never miss.” 

Silence again. A figure settles next to him on the edge, fidgeting before finally settling into one position, then morphing into another. It’s too much movement. Jigen averts his eyes. 

“Do you ever think about jumping?” There’s a shuffling of fabric. He’s standing again. The shadow in the corner of Jigen’s vision tilts dangerously, and he’s on his feet in an instant, springing forwards to catch the other man, arms outstretched. They both stumble backwards, off the ledge and onto the rooftop itself. And Ace starts laughing. 

“You’re fucking crazy. What if I hadn’t caught you?!” Jigen doesn’t even know the guy. But he’s angry nonetheless. He releases his arm, goes to find his Magnum. 

“I’d have died, I guess.” 

The Magnum isn’t there. Jigen’s heart misses first one beat, then two, and he scrambles over to the ledge once more, desperately hoping to find it there. When did he let it go? What if it dropped? Where- 

“Take it easy, Clint Eastwood. I’ve got it right here.” 

Jigen whirls at the same time that Ace throws it, snatching his gun out of the air with more force than is probably necessary. 

“After this heist? Leave. I don’t know how you got in or who you are, but this shit isn’t for you.” 

Ace fucking laughs. He laughs. And as Jigen WALKS back to the exit, calls after him, “And is this for you, Jigen?” 

He slams the door this time. And goes to get ready.

Initially, the heist goes off as planned. Everyone is in their positions. Jigen is on top of a building, preparing to take out some guards and after that, the alarm system. The boss is giving orders over their headsets. If anything, he’s almost enjoying the thrill of the heist. It’s exciting, being back on a job.  
But then things start to go wrong. Jigen takes out the guards no problem and disables the alarm system with no trouble at all, and then hears nothing. And that’s exactly it. The boss gives no orders, nobody on the headset speaks, and even the usual fanfare of their jobs doesn’t seem to be happening at all. He strains his ears, peering down at the building. And the building explodes. 

Into fireworks. 

There are screams from inside, and Jigen watches in silent horror as the windows are lit up in a multitude of lights. Are they going off inside? They’d have to be. He signals the boss once. Then again. And again. There’s no response. People come pouring out the door in a great rush, and Jigen sights through the scope of his rifle, trying to find the source of the commotion. Multicolored lights flash onto the building. Jigen belatedly realizes that they spell out a name. Lupin III. It sounds familiar. Loud bangs go off in the street. Too many things are happening at once. Smoke follows the people rushing out the door. And in the middle of that smoke, a different figure emerges. Jigen, distracted as he is, almost misses the distinctly lanky figure of Ace, pelting headlong out of the smoke with a bag in hand. But he doesn’t quite. With a soft curse, he throws his gear into his case and runs. 

Jigen meets Ace in an alleyway, in front of an inconspicuous looking parked car. Except Ace looks different. His freckles are gone, his hair is a different color, and something in his eyes looks a little different. Wilder. They both stop, staring at each other. Jigen pulls his gun. 

“You fucking betrayed us, huh.” It isn’t a question. 

‘Ace’ smirks. 

“And?” It also isn’t a question. 

His hands tighten on the gun. The other man does not look concerned. 

“Lupin III, I presume?” 

The man--Lupin--makes as if to bow, remembering at the last second that he’s being held at gunpoint. Instead, he nods, smirk remaining. 

“The one and only! Now if you could, say, lower the gun, I’d much appreciate it.” 

“Who the fuck do you think I am?! Stay right the hell where you are, or I’ll make you do so.” 

He fumbles with the headset. His hands are almost shaking. They won't, though. They never do.

“Oh? How? Are your loyalties to this gang so strong that you’d shoot an unarmed man for them?” Lupin pauses, looks thoughtful. “You aren’t like, actually into the boss are you? Because he’s remarkably stupid.” 

Jigen makes a low growling noise in the back of his throat. Lupin looks shocked, then bemused. 

“I just think you could do better. In business, too!” 

Lupin shifts his hold on the bag, then glances skywards. 

“You could always partner with me.” 

Jigen shoots. 

Or at least, he tries to. The Magnum clicks in his hand, and Lupin dives for the car, worming his way into the front seat so quickly that Jigen almost misses it. Jigen ignores the frantic scramble and instead reloads. He’d been stupid, let the guy touch his gun. Hadn’t checked it again. Fuck. 

He finishes loading as the car roars to life and begins to move. Jigen stops. Takes aim for the driver’s window and Lupin’s head. 

Fires. 

The shot hits glass and goes no further. Bulletproof. The car startles into gear and Jigen jumps out of the way as it screeches past him into the street and out of the alley. And Lupin is gone. 

Jigen leaves the city later that night without a word or a note. He doesn’t particularly mind burning bridges, though as he drives further into the night, the very thought of Lupin manages to rankle at him. It sticks to him like a nettle. And in the very back of his mind, the bit that even he ignores, he hopes to see the thief again. If anything, just so he can get his shot in. 

\---------------------------------------

He does meet Lupin again, eventually. It just takes a series of bad bosses, low salaries, and botched jobs before he can. Their meeting comes at something of a bad time; Jigen’s crouched behind a wall of crates, bullets echoing in the warehouse around him, bleeding from the arm. It’s the first time in a long time that he’s been in an actual, real gunfight, and it feels great. Not in a traditional sense perhaps. It’s more like it feels as if he’s alive again. 

He’s sheltering in place, reloading, when there’s a sudden commotion from the other end of the room. The shooting doesn’t let up entirely, but the gunman can hear it lessen as his attackers (members of his gang from a previous job, whoops) dispatch to go check it out. He crosses his fingers, pops out from behind the crates, and fires. One man falls--he thinks his name was Tony? The rest of them look enraged. They start moving. Jigen grins, something feral and a little bit bloody. He lights a cigarette. And a voice from the dark says “Can I have a light?”

His gun is trained on the source in a second; located somewhere between a different stack of crates on his left. Secluded and in shadow. The perfect hiding place that he hadn’t quite been able to reach when all the action had begun. Well, Jigen thinks, at least someone had.

“Who the-”

A lighter flicks, then catches in the gloom. The footsteps are getting closer. The shooting is getting louder. And Jigen finds himself at Lupin III, formerly Ace, sequestered in the space between the crates. He grins. Jigen gapes. The thief gestures to the ceiling and when Jigen glances up he spots a shaft of moonlight filtering in through what would otherwise be a relatively unnoticeable hole.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jigen’s whisper is hoarse and frantic, and he turns the second after to fire off another shot at the encroaching gang. When he looks back, Lupin is halfway up the wall, on what appears to be… a rope ladder? It’s dumb. It’s so ridiculous that it shouldn’t work. But it is working, and it might just be Jigen’s only way out. He takes a second to glance into the warehouse and gauge the odds. It isn’t looking good here, and his shoulder is beginning to really and truly pain him. With a sigh, he grabs the cigarette and tucks it into the wooden crates in front of him. Maybe it’ll start a fire and blow the whole place to shreds. A man can dream. And, launching off with the balls of his feet, he rockets towards the ladder.

The shots follow him, chipping pieces off the wares and biting into metal walls. He doesn’t flinch, but instead curls a little tighter in on himself, trying to become a smaller target. One of the bullets finds its home in Jigen’s left leg, and he yells, before launching onto the ladder and beginning to climb.

It moves much faster than Jigen would expect and when he spares a second to glance upwards, it’s to find Lupin, bodily hauling the ladder from the hole in the roof. A shot grazes Jigen’s cheek. Lupin looks excited. And horrified. And with a final, desperate scramble, the thief yanks the ladder up as Jigen reaches the rooftop, flinging himself out of the opening.

They both sit on the roof for a minute, Lupin leaning back on his palms and Jigen lying on his back. From below, the sounds of shouting orders carry through the hole, and the gunman gives himself a mental push to get moving. He doesn’t.

“What…” Jigen has to cut himself off for a second. Regain his breath. “... what the fuck prompted this?”

“You mean my incredible rescue? Or like, the situation that you were in. Because I can answer both but I don’t think you’ll like the latter.” Lupin rocks back, pushes himself into a standing position. “If I’m being honest, I was completely serious about my offer last time.”

“Your-” Last time? Oh. He’d thought that was a joke. “-are you serious?”

“I want you to work with me, Jigen. It doesn’t have to be for long. But I need backup for my next heist and, well. You’re the best man with a gun I’ve ever seen.”

For the first time since Jigen’s known him (which, admittedly, was under false pretenses last time so perhaps they aren’t acquainted), Lupin looks entirely serious.

“I'm still pissed at you for that job, though I guess I owe you now." Jigen pauses, considering. "And you didn’t even need that light.”

Lupin winks. Holds out a hand.

Jigen takes it.

\---------------------------------------

The screech of an alarm bell breaks the silence of the night and spotlights slam on, one after the other. The casino, lit in neons and surrounded by limousines, spills the bustle of the inside onto the pavement as security guards in black come pouring out of the doors like a swarm of ants. They’re a stark contrast against the lights of the city and onlookers scurry back to the sidewalk as they begin to fan out, searching for the people responsible for this night’s loss--the first in ages.

Jigen and Lupin, of course, are far above the streets, high on the exhilaration of the chase. With a soft whistle, Jigen leaps the bridge between buildings and comes down hard on the other side. He whirls, arms stretching out, and Lupin chucks a bag full of cash into them, following swiftly behind. They laugh to each other, quietly now that police have started to fill the street below, and continue on their way for a couple yards before the telltale shout comes from below.

“Good to know Zenigata made it.” Jigen isn’t happy to have the law on their tail, but the thrill of threat seems to spur his energetic partner onwards, and he can tell that tonight Lupin is feeling especially excited. The thief grins and gestures backwards. 

“How long do you give him to catch up?” 

“Ten minutes.” Jigen fishes a lighter out of his pocket. Lights a cigarette. He offers it to Lupin, who waves it away, concentrating.

“Five.” 

“Seven.” He stows the lighter again and attempts to fix a smug grin to his face. It seems to work; the corner of Lupin’s mouth quirks up, and his eyes shine with the neon of the streets.

“... You’re right.”

Their partnership hasn’t lasted that long--yet. Granted, long enough for Jigen to stick around for several heists rather than just one. And long enough for them to start traveling together in the time in between. Long enough that when, after a few minutes of quiet, Lupin (grinning wider than ever) grabs Jigen’s cigarette and takes it for himself; sprinting off into the night, Jigen is comfortable enough to yell after him with all the animosity he can muster while sprinting.

“You fucking- _give me my cigarette back, Lupin I’ll wring your scrawny neck so help me-_ ”

Lupin simply laughs, sticks his tongue out, and makes sure that Jigen stays with him, every step of the way.


End file.
